The story
- Latin · derived fromsilex“hard stone, flint”
- New Latin · borrowed fromsilica
- English todaysilica
From New Latin silica, from Latin silex (“hard stone, flint”), on model of alumina, soda.
Words from the same roots
First known use, by meaning
- from 1801 Silicon dioxide.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.